Margaret Hodge is to tell University vice chancellors this week that the government remains committed to its pledge to give half the population a university level education.

Forum Response: Universities UK

Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, told ePolitix.com: "We support the government's 50 per cent participation target and the goal of increasing social inclusion, and we are working hard to achieve this. However, this costs money.

"Our spending review submission emphasised that universities need adequate funding so that they can effectively recruit and support non-traditional students and also maintain the high quality of UK higher education.

"We have also made it very clear that the poorest students need adequate financial support, through a system of targeted maintenance support. We now look to the government to deliver on both counts."

Forum Response: NATFHE

Tom Wilson, head of the universities department for NATFHE, told ePolitix: "It is not enough for the minister to have aspirations regarding increased access for the disadvantaged. Ministers must provide the right policies to achieve this, including substantial student support.

"The single biggest threat to broader participation is top-up fees, which would price higher education out of reach of the very people who need it most. It is not the government's targets which may in the future be considered unambitious, but - if it includes top-up fees - their strategy for achieving these targets."